Eglu Cube Coop For Sale

[Debby Tutton]

Bonjour mes amis,

 

Is there anyone out there in France ?

 

I have been speaking to a local farmer who has a number of hens and tells me that foxes are not a problem but pole cats are ! Has anyone any experience of these nasty little chaps ? I've seen a lynx but not a pole cat. I have a Mk 1 Eglu, extended run with dozens of pegs and extensive electric fensing for daylight foraging.

 

How do your hens manage in the hot summer days ? Obviously we provide shade and copius amounts of water but should I do anything else ? Last summer it reached 38 here.

 

I am interested in comparing notes.

[jennydavies]

As far as I know there's only You, Me and a lady in the Limousin, member name Yolko.

[Space Chick]

There is also Jackiepoppies and Drew and Allan

[ValerieR]

Aquitaine! I am so jealous! My first degree was French and I did a lot of mediaeval french - and learned lots about Eleanor of Aquitaine etc!

[jennydavies]

It is a very beautiful region of France, lots of green rolling hills covered in fields of sunflowers and vineyards. Just inland from the coast (gorgeous fine, white sand beaches) you have millions of acres of pine forest planted by Napoleon to soak up the seawater and turn the seabed into usable land with unlimited wood for fuel. When you walk in the pine forest the floor is just pure sand. Further inland the soil is clay-ish but very fertile and everything seems to grow really easy. Everybody has fruit trees and a vegetable garden and of course - Chickens It's a very laid-back way of life and very much like England in the fifties but with all mod-cons.

[ValerieR]

How were you lucky enough to move out there and do you speak good French? Perhaps a dream for when I retire ....

[jennydavies]

We were lucky enough to retire early two years ago, and decided to move here after several holidays in France. I was a postwoman with Royal Mail and my husband, Charlie, was a white van man doing deliveries. We both took early voluntary retirement, sold our house in Essex, bought a plot of land here and built a bungalow on it to our own design. Believe me, we think how lucky we have been every day and we never have a day when we regret "making the leap", it's a fantastic place to live. We don't speak fluent French, we go to class one afternoon each week and we happily "get by" on what we know.

[ValerieR]

I really admire you Jenny!

[Chicken Shirl]

We live in Tenerife, the weather here is very hot in summer. The hens are free, so they find their own shade, and spend all the afternoons on the lawn resting under the trees, they need good humidity and the lawn in the best place for them. Access to plenty of fresh water is a must, they drink masses. If we have a hot wind from Africa I make sure there is a hosepipe running everso slowly under the trees to keep them cool. I expect it will be similar conditions to the Mistral's you can have in France. I hope you find this useful.

 

Your life sounds wonderful. Well done for taking that big step.